The reason
by LiltingBanshee
Summary: Would Erik really kill Buquet just because of the silly stories he told everyone? No, there was another reason. Will be EC, rating mostly for laguage and some violent actions.
1. Night at the Opera house

**The reason.**

by LiltingBanshee

**Author´s note: This is a repost of the first chapter as I found some embarresing mistakes when reading it for the tenth time:) Please let me know if anyone is reading this at all or if I should just give it up.**

**Thanks to little witch for the review;)**

She didn´t know what had awoken her from her sleep, she just knew that she was awake. Wide awake. She let her eyes wander around the room. All the other girls were asleep, just like she should be.  
Her gaze feel upon Meg´s empty bed. If only Meg had been here she could have woken her up and they could have whispered about all kinds of things until they would fall asleep again. But Meg wasn´t here. She had gone with her mother to visit a sick relative and for the first time in many years Christine Daáe was left at the opera house without her foster mother or sister.

Having stared at the ceiling for several minutes she got out of bed and put her robe on. Maybe a little walk would make her tired enough to go back to sleep. Silently she slipped out of the door the the ballet dormitories. This part of the opera house was unusually quiet as this time of night and she felt a slight chill run through her at the thought of someone hiding in the shadows.

'No, she was not scared. She was 14 years old now. A big girl'

As she wandered around on her own she heard a faint noise coming from futher down the corridor. She walked closer and recognized the dressing roomthat belonged tothe older ballet girls.

'What could they be doing up this late?' she thought to herself.

She could her voices, laughter and faint music coming from the room. But the voices? They were not just girls voices, there was a man in there!  
She couldn´t believe they would behave like that just because Madame Giry was out of town for a few days.  
She walked closer to the door. It sounded like they were having great fun in there, especially the man. She could hear him laugh and she thought she recognized the sound of his laughter. As she leaned her ear to the door one of the floorboards she was standing on gave a loud squeaking sound. She gasped with fear, but before she could think of a place to hide the door was ripped open and an angry reddish face stared at her.

"Well well, who do we have here?" Joseph Buquet´s facial expression turned from angry into a satisfied smirk at the sight of the frightened young girl in the corridor.

Christine´s bottom lip began to tremble from the shock and Buquet reached a hand out to her.

"Do not cry little dear, I did not mean to frighten you. Come and join our little party" he said with a grin that flashed his ugly rottened teeth.

"Oh no Monsieur, I really should just go back to my bed….." Christine whispered.

Buquet grabbed her wrist and dragged her with him. "You can´t tell on us if you were a part of this yourself" he hissed in her ear as he pushed her into the room.

Several of the ballet girls now saw what had caused the sound outside the door and they grinned at the skinny teenager in her white nightgown and thin robe who was being shoved into the room.

"Christine, how lovely to have you here!" Georgette, one of the ballet girls exclaimed with a wicked grin. She pulled the girl into a hug and Christine could smell alcohol in her breath and cursed herself for having ever stepped out of her bed.

"Please let me go" she whispered as small tears began to roll down her cheeks.

"Oh don't be such a baby Daáe! You´re way too old for that" Georgette smiled and dragged Christine onto her lap. "Here, drink some of this" she said and handed a bottle to Christine.

"No please, I don´t want it" Christine whimpered.

"I said drink it!" Georgette said and put the bottle to Christine´s lips. Though drunk as she was Georgette was stronger than Christine and with the bottle pressed to her lips she had no choice but to accept the liquor.  
She squeezed her eyes shut as the cheap brandy burned in her throat as she swallowed it.

"Good girl" Georgette grinned and repeated her action.  
Before long Christine began to feel lightheaded and some of her fear had vanished. She was sitting on the floor were she had tumbled to when Buquet had grabbed Georgette to dance with her and she couldn´t help but smile at the slightly blurred vision of the promiscuous ballet girls.

After a while Georgette came back to her with the bottle and the more she brought it to Christine´s lips the less she objected.  
Suddenly she began feeling a bit sick. Her head was spinning and her eyelids drooping. The voices of Buquet and the other girl became distant and she felt like crying again.

"I want to go to my bed…" she whispered. "Please…" She wasn´t sure if anyone had heard her, but then she felt a pair of arms encircle her waist.

"Come on little girl, time for bed" Buquet´s voice was slurred, but she didn´t fight him as he dragged her towards the door. She didn´t pay attention to the giggles coming from the other girls and she was grateful as the noise fainted when Buquet walked her down the corridor.

She was already thinking of how good it would be to be in her bed when she felt Buquet stop.

"Are we there?" she asked.

"We´re exactly where we should be" he said.

Suddenly she was pushed roughly against the corridor wall and felt Buquet´s lips assault hers in a violent attempt of a kiss.

"No, what are you doing?" she whimpered and tried to push him away.

"Quiet child, you know you want this!" he hissed and trailed his lips to her neck.

"No, please I want to go to sleep, let me go" she was crying now, but that just made him even more excited.

She felt his hand squeeze her young breast and the pain made her cry out. "Stop please, you´re hurting me" she cried.

"It´s supposed to hurt, stupid girl, but the pain will turn to pleasure, at least for one of us" he grinned and put a hand up under her nightgown.

She struggled hard against him, but stopped instantly as she felt the blow to her cheek and fell to the floor.

"Stay still you little whore" he spat as he nearly threw himself down on her.

She felt his hands roaming again and sobbed her heart out. "Please help me, please…" she wept.

As she felt him roughly pull her underwear down she screamed like she never had before, but was silenced as Buquet pressed a hand to her mouth.

"Didn´t I tell you to be quiet? No one can hear you here, and even if they can they don´t care. This happens all the time here" he smirked and then screamed as she bit him hard.

"You little witch" he roared and hit her again. She closed her eyes and cried. She heard him unbutton his trousers and she knew what was going to happen.

"Please Angel help me, Angel I need you…" she cried.


	2. Please help!

**The Reason**

by LiltingBanshee

**Author´s note: Right, some of you must be reading this, unless someone has read it over 50 times... Anyway here´s the second chapter, please let me know what you think of it:)**

'No one can hear you, and even if they can they don´t care!' his words rung in her ears, no one would come for her.

She squeezed her eyes shut and prepared herself for what would happen when she suddenly felt his weight being lifted of off her. Still too scared to even open her eyes she pulled her knees up to her chest and curled up in a little ball of tears.

Buquet lost his breath as he was violently pushed against the wall.

"Do not even think of touching her!" a voice rasped close to his ear.

Even in his drunken state he registered the white mask only inches from his own face. He knew of the opera ghost, had seen the frightened faces of the little ballet rats when unexplainable things happened around the opera house and he himself had oftened felt another pressence when he worked alone behind the scenes.

But never had he been this close to the object of the many stories he enjoyed to frighten the silly young girls with.  
Fear gripped his heart and he felt the warmth spread in his trousers as he wet himself when the tall dark figure pressed a strong arm to his throat.

Not even the white mask could hide the satisfied smirk on his face when Buquet struggled to catch his breath and his eyes became wide. He allowed his arm to press just a little harder against the man´s throat before he loosened the preassure a bit.

"I will not kill you before the eyes of an already terrified and crying child, but have no doubt that I will not hesitate to end your pathetic existance if you ever lay a hand on her again!"he hissed.

He loosened his grip completely and Buquet coughed pathetically.

"Leave now you useless piece of filth, and don´t forget you fate lies in my hands" the figure said and gave him a rough push.

Once alone in the corridor he turned to the weeping child. She was hugging her knees close to her and crying heartbreakingly. Carefully he kneeled down next to her and touched her arm.

"Hush now child, you´re safe" he whispered.

"Angel...?" she asked through her tears.

"Yes my child, your Angel is here" he lifted her into his arms and craddled her to his chest. "No one will ever harm you as long as your Angel is here".

She leaned into his chest and cried even harder than before, but he knew her tears were not those of fear anymore. He thought of what to do with her. If he took her back to the dormitories her cries would surely wake the other girls and he couldn´t really bring her to his home. Or could he? No, she had already been through a lot tonight, the descent to his humble lair would do her no good. Instead he began walking down the corridor.

He placed her gently on the bed and went back to lock the door again. Antoinette had always told him to use the room if he felt the need, but not until tonight had he really appreciated her gesture.

He went back to the bed, looked down at her and smoothed the curls away from her face. She whimpered in her sleep and a light sweat had broken out on her forehead. Without a second thought he hastily walked to the little washing area of Antoinette´s room and brought a a bowl back to the bed. And how right he had been. Soon Christine began to cough and a few minutes later spilled the remains of the harsh brandy into the bowl. She began to cry again, but Erik managed to get her to rinse her mouth and afterwards got her to drink some fresh water from a cup.

"I´m sorry Angel..." she sniffed.

He planted a chaste kiss on her forehead. "Do not apologize my sweet. This was not your fault, all you have to concentrate about is getting well" he soothed.

"Please, don´t leave..." she whispered.

"I will never leave you Christine. Now go back to sleep" he said softly.

Sometime in the early morning hours he brought her back to her own bed. During the hours in Antoinette´s room he had taken the liberty to rearrange her clothes.The delicate task of replacing her underwear had nearly killed him, but the thought of how ashamed she would be to wake up without it, though still in her nightgown, had helped his determination to make things right.

He pulled the covers over her and felt her stir. He eyes fluttered open and she smiled weakly at him. Then she winced and brought a hand to her head.  
He placed his hand over hers gently. "Your head will ache today my dear so try and get as much rest as possible" he said and affectionally ran a hand down her cheek. He planted a sweet kiss on her nose and stood up to leave.  
Just before he reached the door her heard he soft voice. "Thank you Angel..." she whispered before drifting off to sleep again.

'Anytime Christine. I will always watch you back' he thought and then left.

**Ok, still more to come...**


	3. On the roof

The Reason 

by LiltingBanshee

Author´s note: Ok, I never intended for this to be a long story so here is the final chapter. Thanks to those of you who have read it, and those who reviewed:)

**Twinkle22: Thank you, hope you like the ending:)**

**BadBugz: Thanks, hope the developement will please you:)**

Christine´s headache and nausea the following day was dismissed as a mild cold. Erik knew how embarressed she was about the incident so he never mentioned it to Madame Giry and he and Christine never discussed it between them.  
He had promised to always watch her back an in the following years he kept a close eye at Buquet. The man seemed to have taken the warning seriously, but he challenged fate by scaring all the ballet girls with stories of the Opera Ghost. In the beginning Erik was quite amused by the man´s silly tales and the girlish screams they produced, but then one day he noticed the hurt look in Christine´s eyes when she overheard the stories.  
She knew Buquet was talking about her Angel and it pained her to hear someone speak so badly of him. He had after all saved both her innocence and maybe her sanity that night and he was doing everything in his power to make her succeed at the Opera.

Yes, he had scared her that night in his lair when she foolishly had removed his mask and he had reacted with such anger, but when she thought about it who could blame him? She had stuck her nose in something that wasn´t her business and betrayed his trust.  
That was also why she hadn´t objected to not being given the lead role in tonight´s production of Il Muto. She didn´t deserve to be given such an important role when she had treated her tutor like this.

In fact she wished she wasn´t going to be in the production at all. Ever since that horrible night two years ago she had felt uneasy around Joseph Buquet. He had kept his distance from her, but lately he had seemed to be braver. He kept stealing glances at her and winked at her when he thought no one was looking. She was disgusted by him!  
She took a deep breath and prepared herself for the performance.

He knew too much! That stupid man had seen him replace Carlotta´s bottle and now he was playing hero and followed him around in the theatre. How stupid could one man be?  
When he finally felt the rope tighten around the man´s neck he felt satisfied.  
'I gave you a chance, but you failed! Say goodbye!' he thought to himself as he tightened the noose and threw Buquet´s lifeless body over the edge for everyone in the theatre to see.

He was pleased with himself, but then he saw the horrified look on Christine´s face as she sought comfort with the young Vicomte. In a flash his satisfaction turned to fear. Had he overstepped the line?

He clutched the rose to his chest as he wept. What had he done? He had driven her right into the silly Vicomte´s waiting arms and now she had agreed to marry him! She had tossed the rose aside and left the roof in a blissful mood with her future husband. He was hurt and angry beyond words. He was just about to lash into another line of curses like the ones he had bellowed at the sky moments before when the door to the roof was ripped open.

"Erik! What in Heaven´s name do you think you´re doing? Have you completely lost your mind?" Madame Giry´s stern voice sounded close to hysteria.

"He deserved it!" Erik stated without hesitation.

"Erik, the man was a hardworking stage hand. Yes he told stories about you, but you have killed him Erik! Do you hear me? You murdered Joseph Buquet!" she shouted.

"I had my reasons! He deserved to die!" he yelled back at her.

"Erik, it was ghost stories! No one deserves to die for that!" she was furious.

"It was not just the stories. He tried to force himself on an innocent child Antoinette!" he bellowed.

"What are you talking about Erik?" she still looked angry, but had toned her voice down a bit.

"Two years ago when you were away with little Meg, Buquet tried to rape Christine! She couldn´t sleep so he invited her into the other ballet girls´ dressing room. They gave her alcohol and then he put his hands on her! I would have killed him that night, but I feared the trauma I would cause Christine by doing so infront of her" he said tearfully.

"Oh Erik!" the balles mistress´ face was one of shock. Shock of realizing what had nearly happened to Christine in her absence and shock of the terrible events of the evening. But in her eyes was sadness for this man who loved a young girl so dearly. A girl he now believed to have hurt contrary to what he had intended.

"In the end I did it before her eyes anyway. She will never trust me again" Erik whispered.

"Don´t worry dear, she´ll come around. We were all shocked, but she knows you" Antoinette tried.

"No, she doesn´t know me! She knows her Angel, not the murderous, deformed creature that I truly am" he said bitterly.

Antoinette opened her mouth to protest, but he cut her off. "I´d like to be alone now!" he said with a harshness he immidiately regretted. "Please" he quietly added.

"Sure Erik, just don´t be too hard on yourself" she said and squeezed his shoulder gently before she left.

He kissed the abandoned rose and allowed his tears to run free.

"Angel?"

"There are no angels here! Only the creatures of Hell are present tonight!" he said angrily.

"Was it true? Did you really do it for me?"

He turned to see her standing there wearing her cloak over her costume and her dark curls hanging loosely around her face. She shivered in the cold and he longed to put his arms around her.  
But she was not his to hold!

"I take it you heard..." he said.

"Yes Angel, I heard everything" she said and attempted a smile.

"What are you doing up here? You should be downstairs celebrating your splendid performance" he said.

"I would, but I realized I had lost something up here earlier tonight" she said and looked at her feet.

'Yes child you lost your mind!' he thought with anger. He threw the rose at her. "Do you mean this? A token of deep appreciation carelessly tossed aside" he spat.

Carefully she picked up the rose and fingered the black ribbon. "I didn´t toss it aside. It fell from the inner pocket in my cloak when Raoul twirled me around" she whispered, regretting she had mentioned his name.

"Oh yes, you should be with your fiancé! Not here pretending to look for useless flowers" he gritted through his teeth.

"I´m not pretending! I meant to go back for it earlier, but I had to go on stage! Besides Raoul is not my fiancé!" she yelled, close to tears.

"STOP LYING CHRISTINE! I heard you profess your love for him!" he bellowed.

"You were here?" she gasped.

"Yes my dear, you´re not the only one eavesdropping tonight" he spat.

She looked at her hands, blushing slightly from shame. His anger vanished as he saw her cringe at his words. He had already hurt her tonight, there was no need to go on.

"Go Christine.Go and be with him" he said in a defeated tone.

"I don´t want to" she mumbled.

"Christine you shouldn´t be here. You´re terrified of me. I´ve hurt you badly tonight. I forced you to witness the brutal death of a man by my hand" he said and turned his back to her.

"I´m not afraid of you. I´ve never been" she whispered.

"I don´t need your pity! You ran up here with that boy because you were scared. Be honest Christine!" he said briskly.

He felt her come closer and he nearly stopped breathing when he felt her stand as close to him as she could without touching him.

"You´re right. I came up here because I was scared" she said quietly.

"There you see" he laughed bitterly.

"But it wasn´t you I was scared of. When I saw Buquet hanging in the rope I knew immidiately who caused his death" she said.

"All the way up here you rambled to that stupid boy about how the Opera Ghost haunted you and tormented your mind!" he whirled around and and roared the words at her.  
He expected her to flinch and even begin to cry, but the breath she drew into her chest was not for the purpose of crying.

"How could I tell him that I was beyond happy that that filthy old bastard was finally dead? That the only fear I felt was the fear of my own feelings? I should scream and cry like the other girls, but I had no reason! I was happy! HAPPY! And that scared me!" she screamed at him.

"Christine..." he whispered.

And then came her tears. She sunk down on the roof and buried her face in her hands.

Slowly he bent down next to her and gently touched her shoulder.

"Christine, my dear, don´t cry. It´s over now, he´s gone..." he said affectionally.

"He put his hands on me Angel! He touched me in a way no man should ever touch a woman without her consent – and I was only a child!" she sobbed.

"Shh, he will never hurt you again my love, never" he soothed and hugged her close to his chest.

"If you knew the nightmares I have had, the things I´ve seen! If you had been only a few seconds too late...If you had not been there at all... Would he...would he have killed me?" she hiccuped and lifted her face to him.

He gently brushed the tears away from her cheeks with his glowed thumbs.

"But I _was_ late my darling, he should never have had time to even think about touching you..." he said and felt his own tears burn in his eyes.

"No, don´t ever blame yourself Angel, you saved my life..." she whispered. "By the way, what did you just call me?" she smiled

"My darling...?" he tried.

"No, before that..." her smile grew wider.

"My...my love..." he mumbled embaressed.

She grinned at him " Do you love me?" she asked.

"Yes of course I love you! I have loved you ever since I saw you for the first time. I have loved you as an older brother, a father, a tutor and through the years I have developed the love I feel for you now" he said honestly.

"Which is?" she asked curiously.

"The love a man feels for a beautiful young woman..." he admitted.

"Oh Angel..." she said surprised.

"Do not call me Angel. It does not become me" he said and looked away.

"But I don´t know what else to call you" she said sadly.

"Call me Erik. I am no Angel. I´m nothing but a man...a murderer..."he trailed off.

She put her fingers under his chin and lifted his eyes to meet hers. "No Erik, you´re not a murderer, you are a tutor, a saviour, a protector and the one man whom I truly love" with that she leaned in and kissed his lips gently. Feeling the pressure of her mouth against his made him cry softly.

She comforted him like he had comforted her many times throughout the years. "Shhh, don´t cry my love. Buquet was a useless drunk, everyone will believe he hung himself by accident. No one will blame you. We will move on and you and I will have to get to know each other in a new way" she smiled at him and kissed his cheek.

"But what of the Vicomte Christine? You promised him..." he cried.

"I promised him nothing that can´t be reversed. I was confused and scared, I wasn´t thinking straight, he´ll understand" she said and stroked a finger down his cheek.

He looked deeply into her eyes. "Christine, are you serious?" he asked with slight concern.

She cupped his face in both her hands. "Erik, I have never been more serious in all my life. I will go speak to Raoul tonight, he will be upset, but I hope he will understand. You have been there for me ever since the day I stepped into this building. I would never want you to be anywhere else but beside me" she said, speaking straight from her heart.

They stood up and she entwined her fingers with his as they walked to the door.

"Erik, when I have had my talk with Raoul will you come to my dressing room and take me back to your home? Will you hold me during the night and keep me safe like you always have?" she asked.

He stopped and turned to look at her. "Of course my dear" he said happily. He bent down and kissed her, gently letting his tongue slip in to meet hers. As they broke apart he leaned his forehead against hers.

"I love you Christine" he whispered.

"And I love you. My Erik. My Angel. My protector."


End file.
